Just Business
by a-slightcatchoflightning
Summary: For @casual-laurie An FBG AU where David is a secondary school teacher and Dylan a primary teacher. Careers day at Holby Secondary School goes badly wrong. TW:/ abuse mention, homophobia, panic attack,dishonesty Words: 1968


"Are you sure they're going to want me there?" Dylan tugged at his tie nervously, straightening it for what seemed like the millionth time since they'd set off from the boat, ten minutes ago.

"Dad." Lofty took Dylan's hand in his and continued their walk towards Holby Secondary School, swinging it as they walked. "While teaching may not be the most unusual job at a school, everyone wants to see you again. Everyone misses Mr Keogh!"

"Okay…" Dylan swallowed and licked his lips, "Why am I nervous? I know half the kids in that class anyway, and David's the one who teaches it!" He laughed shakily.

Lofty stopped in his tracks and stood in front of him. "It's okay to be nervous Dad". Before Dylan could reply, Lofty leant in and hugged Dylan, who relaxed into his son immediately, "I'll be at the back, cheering you on" Lofty smiled as he pulled away.

"Gay!"

Dylan's head snapped up, scanning the pavement area around them in attempt to locate the source of the shouted slur.

"Ignore him." Lofty told his Dad as Alex passed them; notorious for shouting things after Lofty in the corridors between lessons, Lofty wasn't going to let him distract his Dad.

"Who was that?" Dylan asked, a more defensive tone seeping into his voice as the boy stuck a finger up at Lofty and swaggered through the school gates, his gait slow and loping.

"No one"

"Lofty…"

"Dad, it's okay, I promise… he just wants attention." Lofty smiled up at Dylan with as much conviction as he could muster, desperate to distract him, at least until the careers day speeches were over.

"Okay. If he does anything though-"

"Then I'll tell you straight away" Lofty finished Dylan's sentence, taking his hand again and practically dragging him towards the school gates. "We'll be late at this rate".

Dylan couldn't help but chuckle at the endearing attitude of his excited son as they passed through the school gates.

The applause was loud and there was a wolf-whistle from the side of the room, suspiciously close to where Iain sat, as Dylan walked from the front of the room back over to the spare seats, having finished his speech on teaching at primary school.

Lofty beamed proudly at the glow on his Dad's face; Dylan loved his teaching job, so having the opportunity to speak about his passion in front of an interested class clearly made him really happy.

So far, they'd had speeches from a waitress, a policewoman, a paramedic, two primary school teachers, an accountant, a private business owner and someone who worked at an emergency services call-centre, therefore leaving two people who hadn't yet spoke.

As soon as the class was silent, David ushered the next speaker to the front, and the attention of the room fell intently upon the middle-aged man, who wore an expensive-looking suit.

"This is… Alex's Dad, I believe" David told the class, smiling softly as Alex nodded in acknowledgement. He went to stand by the windows to watch, signalling that the man could start.

"My name's Marcus, and I'm a lawyer" He began, before explaining to the class that he worked in defence, and that people who were going to court could employ him to try to help them to win the case. Judging by his suit and his neatly-tailored way of speaking, Lofty guessed that Alex's Dad was very good at his job. He tried not to hate people, but at that moment, he couldn't help but feel that Alex's name-calling was somehow an example taken from his Dad, considering the mirrored attitude between the two of them.

As Marcus' speech came to a close, Lofty squinted with concentration. For some reason, he felt rather on edge. Something about the man at the front of the room felt off, but Lofty wasn't quite sure what…

Lost deep in thought, Lofty hadn't realised the questions had started, but at the sound of his boyfriend's voice, his attention snapped back.

"What was your best case?" Max asked, interested in what Marcus had to say.

"So there was this man who was accused of beating his children…" Marcus spoke in an arrogant tone, and Lofty decided on the spot that something was definitely wrong with the way he spoke. He was unfeeling towards the cases, and it looked like he was in it purely for the money; while the rest of the parents were passionate about their jobs, Marcus gave off an impression of boredom… A bit like a snake waiting for prey, he enjoyed the reward at the end of each case just a little too much.

At the back of the room, Dylan paled and considered leaving the room as his hands began to shake slightly. Everyone would look if he left though, and only David and Lofty knew about his childhood, of the people in the room.

Marcus grinned at the class, clearly enjoying discussing the case, "…and I made sure he wasn't sent to prison". His eyes gleamed and the look of ecstasy carried across his whole form.

Dylan gulped as Lofty spoke harshly, not even raising his hand. He could tell his son was scared; Lofty only got defensive when trying to protect himself and his voice rang out into the otherwise silent room.

"So he didn't hit his kids?"

"Who cares!" Marcus laughed, the policewoman at the back of the room clearly having slipped his mind, "What happens at home is their problem, I just make money."

Before he could say anything else, Lofty was standing on shaky legs, adrenaline clearly having taken over his senses. "My mum hit me when I was little. If she hired you, then she could still hit me now if you'd made her look innocent!" He spat.

"If your mum hit you and I made her look innocent, I'd get paid a lot of money…" Marcus replied calmly.

"She could kill me." Lofty uttered the four words quietly, anger seething as he shook. Dylan unconsciously stepped forward a little, touching his son's elbow to let him know he was there. He wasn't surprised when the boy flinched slightly; his trauma reactions always returned when he felt threatened.

"That's a small price to pay…" Marcus told him, "Then I'd get to do a murder case… Though if I could make it look like suicide, there'd be even more money in the equation…"

With that, Dylan pressed Lofty's shoulders down, so the boy was sitting, in case he fainted, before turning to Marcus. If he hadn't made eye contact with David briefly, he would have physically attacked the lawyer, but upon meeting David's terrified expression, he forced himself to back down slightly.

"This is all just one big sum to you, isn't it?!" He yelled, not realising the policewoman step forward.

Marcus jumped, not expecting opposition, but quickly restored his original posture, with the same token smile.

"All you care about is how much money you can make! People's lives are affected by _your_ actions, and that doesn't even matter to you!"

Lofty's heart raced as his Dad's voice thundered around the room. He'd always thought of Dylan as being quite quiet; he'd certainly never been shouted at by him, and when he and David argued, they never raised their voices.

"It's okay Lofty" Iain whispered, now beside him. Lofty hadn't even seen Iain move, but he sank gratefully into his boyfriend's touch as Iain supported his arms gently and stood with him, guiding him from the room.

It was only when they were standing in the corridor that Lofty noticed he'd been digging his nails into his palms and that there were hot tears pouring down his face.

"It's okay, you're okay" Iain told him, running his hands carefully through Lofty's hair as he held him.

Lofty didn't try to speak as he sobbed and gasped for air.

Dylan fell silent as Iain took Lofty from the room and Marcus chuckled gently.

"What would you know about it, eh?" His voice was toxic and the rest of the room was hot with anger.

"He may know nothing, but as an enforcer of the law, I know a fair bit" The policewoman stepped forward, wielding handcuffs.

Marcus gulped and laughed nervously. "Oh come on… there's no need for this!"

Alex glared at him from where he sat on the front row. He knew his Dad had done a few dodgy cases and had more money than he knew what to do with, but he didn't think he'd ever take it that far.

"What you have done is against the law and I'm arresting you under suspicion of fraud and lying to the Court." The policewoman was calm and her voice remained even as she clipped the handcuffs to Marcus' wrists with ease.

"You want a really good story? I let his father go! His father beat him and I let him go because he was offering £10,000! "Marcus screamed at the class, pointing to where Dylan stood, his arms crossed defensively over his chest.

Dylan didn't speak.

As the policewoman began to recite the Miranda rights, Alex left the room, and the anguished screams of his father, turning down the corridor and nearly falling over Lofty and Iain.

"I'm sorry Ben" He told the boy, before continuing down the corridor in silence, his gait slow and loping.

The policewoman left with a now very much embarrassed and subdued Marcus, turning to Dylan quickly. "We'll call you. You can take him to court; it's well within your rights." She smiled at him as she left.

David walked to the front of the class. Stunned into silence, many of them were in tears, clearly shocked and angry by everything.

"I'd like to give you all the opportunity to rest for the remainder of this double period" He told them, his voice quaking slightly. We have one more guest speaker though…"

"Hi" A friendly voice came from the back of the room, "I'm Trevor. I'm a builder, and you all look exhausted, so I think I'll give today a miss if that's okay" He looked to David who nodded.

"Yes, I think that might be best" He agreed. "If all the parents would like to come with me, there's tea in the staffroom waiting…"

The class quietly stood and moved over to other desks to be with their friends, too shocked to misbehave or mess around.

Once the class was settled, Dylan slipped from the room to find Lofty. He didn't have to go far as his son sat beside Iain, who held him and rubbed his arm slightly, his head resting on top of Lofty's and his arms wrapped around his torso.

Lofty looked up as Dylan approached.

"They arrested him, Dad…"

"Yeah, they did."

"Those two boys… they're going to have to live with their Dad now, aren't they?"

"No… They don't live with him…"

"But… He said…"

"One of the boys is me, and the other is Will, darling" Dylan smiled at his son reassuringly, and took his hand when he reached out. "We're okay now, and so are you".

Lofty analysed his Dad's face to check for any sign of dishonesty, but upon seeing none, smiled back softly.

"We should go back to class" He told Iain, looking up into his face. Iain pulled a face of disgust in return, before kissing the bridge of Lofty's nose gently.

"Can't you at least _pretend_ to 'ave another panic attack?"

"No!" Lofty laughed, standing and stretching, and reaching a hand out towards his boyfriend.

"'M stayin' 'ere!" Iain fake-sulked, pouting up at Lofty and crossing his arms.

"Alright you two, when you're ready" Dylan laughed, turning on his heel and making his way to the staffroom to speak to David.


End file.
